CARAMEL CUSTARD BAKED.

A pint and a half of rich milk, a cup and a half of granulated sugar, the fourth of a vanilla bean. Put the milk and vanilla bean cut small into a double boiler over the fire. Melt the sugar without water in a spider, stirring constantly until it is all dissolved and the syrup is a rich golden brown. Do not let it get too dark or it will be bitter. When the milk is at the boiling point stir in half the boiling syrup--if put in too fast the milk will boil over. Let it cook until the sugar (if it hardened as it touched the milk) dissolves. Have four eggs beaten very light in a bowl, pour the milk over them, add a little salt, and if vanilla bean is not used for flavoring, stir in extract of vanilla to taste. Rinse a mould with cold water, pour the custard into it and set it in a pan of hot water in the oven, bake from twenty to twenty-five minutes and test with a knife. If it comes out clean it is done. Add boiling water to the remainder of the syrup and let it cook gently until it is the consistency of thick cream. Flavor with vanilla. Serve very cold.

SOFT-BOILED CUSTARD.

Put a quart of rich milk in a double boiler over the fire with a third of a vanilla bean, split in half, and sugar to taste. Beat the whites of six eggs to a stiff froth, add three heaping teaspoonfuls of granulated sugar, and when the milk comes to the boiling point drop the whites of eggs into it by tablespoonfuls in egg-shape, turn them over in the hot milk for a few seconds, repeat until all are done, drain them and return the milk to the saucepan. Beat the six egg yolks to a light cream, turn the hot milk over it gradually and pour the custard back into the boiler; return to the fire and stir vigorously until it thickens and is smooth to the taste. Remove from the fire, pour at once into a bowl, add a little salt, and set aside to cool. Then put on the ice and at serving time turn into a gla.s.s bowl, arrange the whites of eggs on top and serve with sponge cake.

A SIMPLE DESSERT.

A loaf of stale sponge cake--one that has been baked in a border mould looks pretty. Saturate the cake with orange juice to which has been added a little lemon. Stick the cake over with blanched almonds and fill the center with whipped cream. If the cake is a plain loaf, pile the cream around it.

GINGER CREAM.

Soak a quarter of a box of gelatine in half a cup of milk for half an hour, then place the bowl over steam until the gelatine is perfectly dissolved. Add to it four ounces of granulated sugar and a pint of whipped cream, two tablespoonfuls of preserved ginger chopped fine, two tablespoonfuls of the ginger syrup and a tablespoonful of almonds blanched and chopped very fine. Stir until it begins to thicken, pour into a mould and set on the ice. Serve in a gla.s.s dish and powder the top with chopped almonds.

GRAHAM PUDDING.

Two cups of Graham flour, one cup of milk, one cup of Porto Rico mola.s.ses, one cup of raisins stoned and slightly chopped, one egg, one even teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful of ground cinnamon, one-half teaspoonful of cloves, a little nutmeg, if liked, and a small pinch of salt. Flour the raisins with a little white flour, mix all the ingredients thoroughly together, b.u.t.ter a mould and steam three hours.

Serve with a sauce. If there should be any of the pudding left over, it can be used by cutting in slices half an inch thick, each piece dipped in milk, in which an egg has been stirred, fried brown in a little b.u.t.ter, and served hot with a sauce.

NALESNEKY (a Russian Recipe).

Beat three yolks of eggs light, add to it half a cup of milk, half a cup of water, one cup of flour, and a little salt, mix until smooth, then stir in the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Have some melted b.u.t.ter, brush over the bottom of a frying pan and pour a little of the batter into it, let it cover the bottom of the pan without being thicker than paper, let it brown, turning it to brown the other side, spread with any jelly preferred, fold in half and fold again, making a wedge-shaped cake. Use all the batter in this way, and serve hot. It would be well to have two spiders in use.

NOODLE PUDDING.

Put two ounces and a half of noodles in a pint of boiling milk and cook until stiff like mush. Remove from the fire, and stir in one ounce and a half of b.u.t.ter, one ounce of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of finely chopped almonds, a few drops of extract of almond, when cool add three eggs and a quarter of a cup of cream beaten together, and turn the mixture into a well b.u.t.tered mould sprinkled thoroughly with fine sifted bread crumbs.

Set the mould in a pan of boiling water in the oven, cover to prevent browning, and if the mould has a pipe through the center bake half an hour, if a plain mould it will require three-quarters of an hour. Turn out of the mould and serve hot with a sauce.

PARADISE PUDDING.

Melt two and a half ounces of b.u.t.ter in a saucepan, stir into it a quarter of a pound of sifted flour and a cup and a half of cream or rich milk, let it cook until it no longer sticks to the side of the pan, remove from the fire and let it cool. Then stir in an ounce and a half of sugar, three heaping tablespoonfuls of almonds blanched and chopped and a little vanilla to flavor--vanilla sugar is better than the extract--then mix in five well beaten eggs, a little at a time. Turn it into a well b.u.t.tered mould sprinkled with dried and sifted bread crumbs, set in a pan of hot water in the oven, cover to prevent browning and bake about three-quarters of an hour. Serve hot with a wine or fruit sauce.

PRINCESS PUDDING.

Melt two and a half ounces of b.u.t.ter in a quarter of a cup of rich milk over the fire, stir an ounce and a half of flour into half a cup of milk and add to the boiling milk, stirring constantly until it becomes a smooth paste and no longer adheres to the pan. Remove from the fire; when cold stir in one good ounce of sugar, an ounce of almonds blanched and pounded very fine with a dozen cardamom seeds, three well beaten eggs, a little at a time, half a teaspoonful of almond extract. Beat well, turn into a b.u.t.tered pudding mould sprinkled with fine bread crumbs, set the mould covered in a pan of boiling water in the oven, and if the mould has a pipe in the center bake from thirty to thirty-five minutes. Turn it out and serve immediately with a fruit or wine sauce.

ENGLISH PLUM PUDDING.

Two pounds of raisins, one pound of currants, one pound of citron, half a pound of almonds, one pound of b.u.t.ter, one pound of flour, one pound of brown sugar, one teaspoonful each of ground cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger and nutmeg, half a pint of brandy and wine mixed and one dozen eggs. Boil six hours. Keep water boiling by the side of pudding boiler all the time and continually refill as the water evaporates. In preparing the pudding have all the fruit stoned and cut, but not too fine, the almonds blanched and chopped. Incorporate all the ingredients well together before adding the eggs and spirits and beat the mixture well together for at least an hour--the longer the better.

SAGO SOUFFLe.

A pint of rich milk, two and a half ounces of b.u.t.ter, one ounce and a half of sugar, two ounces of pearl sago, one ounce and a half of blanched almonds chopped very fine. Mix all together, put over the fire and let it cook for fifteen minutes, stirring constantly, remove from the stove and let it cool. Beat three eggs and add a little at a time until all is used, flavor with half a teaspoonful of almond extract, put in a pudding dish and bake half an hour. Sift a little powdered sugar over it and serve immediately in the dish in which it is baked.

SEMOULINA PUDDING.

Put a pint and a half of milk on the fire to boil with two ounces of b.u.t.ter, three ounces of sugar, an ounce and a half of sweet and two or three bitter almonds blanched and chopped very fine, sprinkle into it three ounces of semoulina or farina, and boil until quite stiff, stirring constantly. Remove from the fire and turn into a mould that has been wet in cold water. Serve very cold with fruit sauce or cream.

SERNIKY (a Russian Recipe).

Put one ball of pot cheese, such as is sold at a creamery for five cents, in a mixing bowl, break it up with a spoon, and add to it a heaping tablespoonful of b.u.t.ter, the well beaten yolks of four eggs, a little salt, a heaping dessertspoonful of currants and two slightly heaping tablespoonfuls of flour. Mix all well together and let it stand an hour or more. Sprinkle a pastry board thickly with flour, turn the mixture out from the bowl, cut off pieces of it and roll with the hands until about an inch and a half thick, cut in pieces about two inches long, the ends bias. Have a saucepan ready with boiling water, drop the pieces into this without crowding and cook until they float--about five minutes--take them out with a skimmer. Roll in dried bread crumbs, fry brown on both sides in b.u.t.ter, and serve hot with cream and sugar.

STEAMED PUDDING.

One cup of raisins stoned and chopped, one cup of b.u.t.ter chopped, two cups and a half of flour, one cup of Porto Rico mola.s.ses, one cup of sweet milk, a scant teaspoonful of soda, a teaspoonful of cinnamon, and a little nutmeg. Steam in a mould two hours. Serve hot with a sauce.

SPONGE CAKE MERINGUE.

b.u.t.ter well a pudding dish, cover the bottom with slices of stale sponge cake about an inch thick, fit closely together. Beat the yolks of three eggs with three teaspoonfuls of granulated sugar, add the grated rind of half and the juice of one orange, the juice of half a small lemon, two tablespoonfuls of melted b.u.t.ter and stir in soda as large as a pea into a cup and a half of milk, add this to the orange and egg and stir well together. Pour three-quarters of this mixture over the cake, set the dish in a pan of boiling water in the oven, and when the cake has absorbed the custard and no longer floats, add the remainder of the custard. While the pudding is baking make a meringue of three whites of eggs beaten to a stiff froth and three-quarters of a cup of granulated sugar, flavor with the grated rind of half an orange and a few drops of orange extract. Spread quickly over the pudding and bake fifteen minutes.

PUDDING OF STALE CAKE.

Almost any kind of stale cake will do for this pudding. To three cups of the cake crumbs allow a cup and a half of milk, three tablespoonfuls of melted b.u.t.ter and two eggs beaten light. Pour the milk over the crumbs and let them soak until soft, then stir in the melted b.u.t.ter and the eggs, beat well and pour into a mould that has been well b.u.t.tered and sprinkled with fine bread crumbs. Set the mould in a pan of hot water in the oven, cover to prevent browning and bake three-quarters of an hour.

Serve hot with fruit or wine sauce.

BAKED TAPIOCA PUDDING.

Soak a cup and a half of pearl tapioca two hours in a quart of rich milk, put it in a double boiler and cook until the tapioca looks clear, remove from the fire, stir into it two slightly heaping tablespoonfuls of b.u.t.ter and a scant half cup of sugar. When cold add four eggs beaten light and flavor with vanilla, or the rind of a lemon grated and added when the tapioca is cooking. b.u.t.ter a mould, sprinkle with dried bread crumbs, turn the mixture into it and bake. Turn out on a platter and serve hot with a foaming sauce.

TAPIOCA CREAM.

A quarter of a cup of pearl tapioca, a cup of water, a pint of rich milk, three even tablespoonfuls of sugar, a teaspoonful of vanilla extract, two eggs and a little salt. Soak the tapioca in the water two hours, then turn it into a double boiler with the milk; when it boils, beat the yolks of eggs to a cream and the whites to a stiff froth, mix a little of the milk with the egg, then pour it into the boiler and stir a moment until thick, remove from the fire, add the vanilla extract and stir in lightly the beaten whites of eggs. The froth should show through the custard. Serve very cold in a gla.s.s bowl.

STEAMED RICE.

Half a cup of rice, half a teaspoonful of salt and one and one-third cups of boiling water. Put in small cups in a steamer, cover closely and steam three-quarters of an hour. Serve with stewed fruit and cream or sugar and cream.